Pope Leo XIV has appointed Fr Stephen Wang as the sixth Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, succeeding Archbishop Richard Moth following his translation to Westminster earlier this year.

Fr Wang, 60, has served since 2021 as rector of the Venerable English College in Rome, one of the seminaries responsible for the formation of priests for England and Wales. His episcopal ordination and installation will take place at the Cathedral Church of Our Lady and St Philip Howard in Arundel later this autumn.

Responding to the appointment, Bishop-elect Wang said it had come as “a huge surprise” and that he felt “a mixture of gratitude and trepidation” at his new ministry.

“I’m grateful to Pope Leo for calling me and putting his trust in me, and to Archbishop Moth for all his care for the diocese over these years,” he said.

Although saddened to leave the English College and the Diocese of Westminster, he said he was “overjoyed” at the prospect of serving the clergy and faithful of Arundel and Brighton.

“I hope that even with all my weaknesses I can be a loving shepherd, a spiritual father, and a brother as well,” he said. “I know that if we put the love of Jesus and Mary at the centre of everything we do, and always seek to love and serve one another, then we cannot go wrong.”

Archbishop Richard Moth welcomed the appointment, saying Bishop-elect Wang would bring “a wealth of experience” to the diocese and asking the faithful to pray for him as he prepared to begin his ministry.

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Southwark, Archbishop John Wilson, also welcomed the appointment, praising Fr Wang’s commitment to priestly formation, evangelisation and mission.

Born in London in 1966 and raised in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, Fr Wang studied theology and religious studies at the University of Cambridge before entering the Venerable English College in Rome for priestly formation. He was ordained on January 3, 1998.

Following parish ministry in north-west London, he completed a doctorate at Cambridge on the subject of human happiness before teaching philosophy and theology at Allen Hall Seminary in Chelsea, where he later became dean of studies.

From 2013 until 2021 he served as senior university chaplain for the Diocese of Westminster and Catholic chaplain to the London School of Economics.

Fr Wang is also well known as the founder of Sycamore, a video-based Catholic faith formation programme developed with young Catholics in 2014. The resource is now used in parishes, schools and university chaplaincies around the world.

The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton was established in 1965 and covers Surrey, Sussex and the city of Brighton and Hove.

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